The findings of the LGCMs also revealed that reaching menarche by age 11 predicted alcohol use in the following year, and that alcohol use at age 12 mediated the effect of early maturation on later risky sexual behavior. Although not significant, there was a trend for increasing use of alcohol to mediate the effect of menarche by age 11 on sexual risk-taking. This pattern of results is consistent with prior findings indicating that the association between early pubertal maturation and high-risk behaviors among girls is relatively short-lived, and that by mid-adolescence any direct effects have generally dissipated (Dick et al. 2000). It should be noted however, that in the current study, more than 30% of the sample had already reached menarche by age 11 and as a result, this variable may not have been the most sensitive indicator of early maturation or a subgroup at highest risk for problematic behaviors. Future work using other indices of physical development such as Tanner stage timing or rapidity of maturation either singly or in combination with timing of menarche may provide important insights
